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THE REV. CHANCELLOR J. J. LIAS, M.A.^ ON 



the determining test by which the documents are to be separated. 

 But this test has really been abandoned long since, both by 

 Hupfeld, and Dr. Driver himself. Moreover Dr. Driver, in his 

 analysis, " excepts " Genesis xvii, 1 ; xxi, lb. This is simply a 

 confession of failure. How can " Jehovah " occur in two 

 verses of " P " when the basis of reasoning is the supposed fact 

 that the author of " P " is an Elohist ? It is also asserted 

 that, as soon as the Priestly Codist gets to Exodus vi, 2, where 

 Elohim reveals Himself as Jehovah, the former strict use of 

 Elohim ceases. But Elohim still continues to be used ; only, 

 after this revelation of the Covenant Name of God, the use of 

 Elohim ceases to be a distinction of authorship. But then, 

 how can it be contended that it ever 2vas a distinction of 

 authorship ? The ideas involved in the Name Jehovah may as 

 well be supposed to have been projected by a later author into 

 history of the past as employed in the later history. 



2. There are 11 woi ds or expressions out of the 45 adduced, 

 which only occur in " P." Obviously they constitute no proof 

 that " P " is post-exilic* 



3. There are 9 which only occur in " P," Ezekiel or Jeremiah. 

 These give no countenance to the post-exilic theory of "P's" 

 origin. The two prophets may have been, and there is very 

 little doubt now that they were, quoting a document of the 

 Mosaic age. This disposes of 20 of the 45 instances, and thus 

 materially diminishes the evidence that " P " is a post-exilic 

 fragment. 



4. Dr. Driver, once or twice, strangely describes the 

 " Deuteronomist " as deriving his use of such a word as mm 

 (translated " kind " in Genesis i and elsewhere) from " P." As 

 the " Deuteronomist " is asserted to have preceded " P " by 

 some two or three centuries, it is difficult to see how this could 

 be. Dr. Driver makes the same remark about the word sheretz, 

 "to abound" or "swarm," which occurs (noun and verb) frequently 

 in the Pentateuch.f 



5. There are 12 words or phrases said to be characteristic of 

 " P " which occur elsewhere, and are therefore not characteristic 

 of " P." Some are said " to occur in poetry," — a good argument 

 for the very early origin of " P," but none for its being post- 

 exilic. Everyone knows how often poets, whatever their 



Some of these occur in Chronicles, but for reasons already given are 

 not counted. 



t As to the word mm, it is obviously a technical word, corresponding 

 to the technical word genius, as now used by zoologists, and was doubtless 

 thus used by Ezekiel. 



